Great Mouse Detective: The Red Herring of The River Apatite Murder
by Eli H. Lee
Summary: A murder has been committed near the river. In the victim's hands was a fake version of a stolen necklace that held an apatite gem. His widowed wife Parthena has come to Basil and Dawson for help when the police are confused. With Ratigan now alive, he is a likely suspect... but the rat and his partner in crime seem to have some more murders on their minds... Maybe even Basil's.
1. Prologue

Ok, so I'm rewriting two stories while writing this one, so don't expect updates so soon between each chapter.

Eli H. Lee

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><p><em>Falling…that's all he remembered last. He had been fighting Basil… the clock, it had rang, causing them both to fall. He remembered hitting something that bad a splash. He must have fallen into the water. He remembered something pulling at him, how his back ached with pain. Oh terrible, agonizing pain… And all of it was black. <em>

_Until he fell from Big Ben, all he saw was black. Before that, all he had saw was red. _

…_.._

His eye lids slowly open, everything blurry at first before blinking a few times as everything came into focus. Everything was in pain, but not as agonizing as he remembered it at first. He held a hand up to his head, and instantly regretted it before noticing the bandages he had across his chest, shoulders, part of his head, and arms.

"What in the blazes?"

"Oh good, yer finally awake, Professor," a female Cockney accent rang out, it's owner being a female mouse with grayish fur that had a slight brown tint to it and mouse brown hair that fell to her shoulder and always framed the front of her heart shaped face, a slight part trailing down her snout. Her nose was like a rounded triangle and black and her eyes were green for she had the rare trait among mice where they eye color showed all the time*. She wore a green sweater and a blue scarf around the neck. She also wore dark brown pants and blue, cuffed boots. Her expression held only slight boredom, as she got up from the chair. "About time an' all. I was ge'in' sick ov tryin' ter clean da syringe fer your medicine each time," she said as she reached a nearby cabinet that contained medicines.

Ratigan stared for a moment before chuckling weakly, his hand still held up his head. "Never thought your knew anything medical, Ms. Knox."

Knox didn't turn her head, only taking a medicine bottle that contained some sort of sickly green liquid and turning it over to read the label. "Smuggling's a dangerous business, Professor. What yew know might be enuff ter safe your own life an' your crew," she said, grabbing a nearby tablespoon and shaking up the bottle as she walked over to him. Ratigan lifted his hand from his head and dropped it to his side as Knox made him swallow the medicine.

"Like to explain how I got here, my dear?" He said, putting up his usual grin at her. She only rolled her eyes at him.

"John an' William fished yew an' Fidget out ov da river." The grin faltered as he remember about the bat. Knox continued, saying, "At least 'e was still conscious. Hell, 'e was tryin' ter keep yew above da freakin' water! Told us all what 'appened up on what old clock!" For a moment, just a blink of an eye, she looked rather miffed as she put the medicine back, though as she spoke, she retained her calm voice. "What da 'ell was yew thinking? As inventive as i' were, yew really thought ter kill an' take da place ov da Baked Bean* ov Mousedom? And 'ow long did yew think what nobody was gon'a get suspicious ov why da mouse queen appoin'ed a _**rat**_ ter be kin' when she 'as not one, but four sons ov 'er own?" At that last part, she crossed her arms as she spun to face him. Ratigan gritted his teeth when she emphasized the word "rat."

She sighed, rubbing her face, and for the first time for the moment, the male rodent noticed how tired she actually look, small bags starting to develop under her jade eyes.

"The last thin' we need is fer da criminal world ov us rodents ter kick da bucket at da moment..." she said quietly, but not enough for Ratigan not to hear.

"Excuse me?"

Knox looked back over at him, her hand now resting on her cheek now. "We're bein' cracked down by da cops, Ratigan. Yew was da one they kept tryin' ter get, an' now what they think you're dead, they're after any other criminal. And someone's tippin' 'em off, but we don't know who...We 'ad ter break out at least everyone what goes ter da old Rat Trap locations at least five times now," she said. Ratigan just stared as she answered his most likely question. "You've been out fer three weeks. And your cat got taken in by a fancy old lady. Bill says that da girl's getin' spoiled by that woman." Ratigan stayed quiet, laying against the bed board at this information.

"How long until I can get up and on this?"

"Around two weeks at least, but da long term healing'll take months."

"Do the police really think I'm dead?" Ratigan took noticed of Knox's held breath at the question, as well as her stronger grip on her arms. "You've been questioned on it?" Knox breathed out quickly, shutting her eyes for a moment.

"The entire family an' crew. We've been ge'in' caught 'ere an' there an' all. Basil's been on da case, 'ryin' ter use disguises ter pry information out ov us when I get da chance ter run da shop, an' Bertha's been questioned an' all every time da Rat Trap boys get thrown in. Gave 'em 'ell, she did." Knox leaned against the wall, looking to the ceiling. Ratigan remained quiet at this, looking around the room as he took it in. He knew this room, surprisingly enough. It was used to store hidden stash from police if something happened to the Knox family's shop, or if they just couldn't hide it there. This room happened to be next to Howard Knox's study and accessed from the piano room above. It was actually odd in the regard then, for no one would suspect that with how Gwendolen Knox here dressed and Bertha Knox was that chubby barmaid with a flower always in her hair at the Rat Trap that this family would have actually been rather well off in society standards. Ratigan knew this family for what it was most of all however. More than what most other 'customers' would know anyway.

"Basil's… onto this?" Knox merely nodded, her eyes still shut, though her eyebrows narrowed deeply. Ratigan watched her reaction. "Did this little 'someone' who's giving information to the police happened to hint at my condition?" Knox opened one eye to look at his face.

"Ah yes, we've all been thinkin' on who da little snitch is, an' we all actually 'ave determined that 'e hinted it ter 'em coppers. Well, it ain't Fidget. He's still bedridden until we get 'im a new peg leg. And it' ain't Bill, Frank, or Tom. If anythin' as i' is, they're actually tryin' ter find out who da sneak is. But 'e's one ov your thugs, that's fer sure. No other criminal groups an' such know ov your conditions or even what yer alive. Fidget thought ter let yew determine if yew wan' ter surprise 'em wiv a bang or not on that," she said, just before a knock came from above.

"Knox, we got trouble!"

Ratigan recognized the voice belonging to the Rat Trap bar maid instantly. Bertha opened what was a hidden part of the room's ceiling (or part of the floor for the room above) to reveal her face, which was shaped so similarly to her sister's.

"What's da trouble dis time?" Knox asked, staring up at the more 'colorful' of the two.

"Frank thinks he knows who the snitch is, problem is word got to one of them police officers firsts. Papa and some others are going to solve it out, but if something goes wrong…" Bertha trailed off, the worry in her dark eyes sharing the same concern the younger Knox girl had but didn't show.

"Fidget's up in da spare room, Mama should be wiv 'im. Get 'em ter da 'ide out. John an' William should be around somewhere in either da study awer da library. Tell 'em I need 'elp movin' da Professor. I'll leave da signal behind fer Papa an' Harvey."

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><p>And this is just a few weeks before the actual story. Yeah, sorry that there was more focus on the OC Knox and the Rat Trap barmaid a bit, and yes, I named her Bertha here, than Ratigan. But this is just the prologue. This is just a few weeks before the actual events of the story takes place. Btw, "Baked Bean" is a Cockney slang word for Queen. And please review.<p>

Also.. um... since the title of this story **does** contain the word "murder." So that should give you a slight hint on what to... kind of suspect.


	2. Chapter 1

Again, I only own OCs.

Eli H. Lee

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><p>10 weeks later (which would make the month October, oddly enough)….<p>

Basil focused heavily on the mail that Mrs. Judson had given him, trying to sort through the mess. He and Dawson had just came back from a case in the country, dealing with a crazy thief for the last 3 weeks. He also had the rumors of Ratigan still being alive stuck in his head, making it a tad bit harder to focus.

Of course, they had checked the hideout only to find it burned up, with only a note from their informant, Theodore Daniella telling them of the thugs plan. However, whenever they caught a bunch of the criminals that were all a part of this, someone, or another gang, broke them all out. Last Basil had seen or heard of all of this was when Officer Waters (Theodore's father-in-law, funny enough) was killed when he and Mr. Daniella were talking about what they knew of so far, and how rumors were spreading of a smuggling gang healing up Ratigan. He knew the murder, Howard Knox, had been caught shortly after.

Basil stopped shortly just as he looked at one of the letters. It had come from the police station, about a week after Mr. Knox had been caught. The detective opened the letter, reading it carefully as his eyebrows narrowed.

It read:

_Basil,_

_I'm aware you're probably on another case at this point, but I felt that when you got the time to read this that you'll likely be talking those police officers' ears off back at the station. I did understand though that you would needed to be notified of what has happened. _

_I regret to say that I haven't been able to change their minds either. I'm under the suspicion that they thought that their decision would bring the rest out of hiding. I should probably make my point now though. _

_Howard Knox has been sentenced to hang, Basil. His hanging is sentenced to be September 29. _

_Inspector Greg_

Basil paused at this before letting it fall onto the pile and heaved a heavy sigh, rubbing his head in the process. There was more than just murder and smuggling that Howard had been arrested. He was, after all, the father to the four smuggling Knoxs, mostly known for smuggling alcohol, and at one time a very expensive jewel they stole in India. The Knox family were known as thieves, smugglers, and their leader was known to have killed quite a number of mice in the process. If their father was in jail, there would be a good chance that their family nature would get the better of them. The detective looked up to the calendar before taking a double take and burying his head in his paws.

It was the 4th of October.

Howard Knox had been already hanged or broken out of jail.

He didn't know which to hope for. A knock came onto the door.

"Come in," Basil said, leaning back into the chair. Dawson, and a brown dilute mouse in an officer uniform, who was Inspector Greg, opened the door and walked in. Basil looked at the Inspector, having a sudden suspicion this wasn't going to end well. He nodded to the two of them and rubbed his tired eyes. Dawson sat down, a cup of tea (probably from Mrs. Judson, Basil suspected) in his hands, his head down. Greg held his hands together, his expression clearly showing he was trying to find the right words.

"I'm not sure if you got my letter," he started only to get a nod from Basil. "I see then. The family tried to pay the bail, but the judge placed it too hide, higher than what it should have been… then the kiddos tried to break him out after the trial. Old bloke kept pushing them out for them to escape before we could nab them," Greg became quiet, basil sitting up straighter.

"Did they try to interfere with the hanging?" he asked, finding himself fiddling with one of his figures.

"We think they were planning to," Greg hung his head down, shaking it as he lifted up a hand to brush back the tuff of hair on it. "They arrived too late. He was pronounced dead right just as his wife and one of the daughters ran into the crowds and began weeping…" Basil took note of who the inspector began biting his lower lip nervously. Dawson finally looked up to both of them, the tiredness of his eyes also obvious.

"Any word of the funeral?" the doctor asked, the heavy bags under his eyes seeming larger as his closed them.

"Set the day after tomorrow, why?" Greg asked, looking at Dawson strangely. Basil also raised an eyebrow, though he could guess why the caring Doctor asked.

"Well, there's nothing wrong with us being there to comfort the family and wish him a farewell in death."

Both of the other mice looked at Dawson, Greg probably smiling out of the generosity the mouse was trying to show, while Basil frowned inwardly. "They're still criminals."

"Oh have a heart, Basil. They still have had lost a family member. The least we could do is show that we, for any reason they would like to think, care enough."

"I'm not going to a criminal's funeral."

….

"I can't believe you got me to come here…."

Basil wore a black suit, like Dawson who stood beside him, as they listened to the preacher. Looking around, the detective recognized many other criminals, from thugs and thieves, to other smugglers and even known, released, murderers. And in front of them, just by a few seats, was the Knox family. Madeline Knox, the third wife to Howard, and now his widow, was a grayish rat woman with graying black wavy hair, and black nose, and icy blue eyes. If Basil remembered correctly, she had been a thief and spy, with four husbands, all who died mysteriously, before she married Howard. Her son, John, was her only child from any of those marriages, and looked very much like her, with the exception that he wore his hair in a ponytail and that he had two scars on the bridge of his nose. Then, next to John, was Howard's oldest child and son, William. It was actually a tad disturbing how similar John and William were, even though they were different species and that William had dark brown rims around his ears. On the other side of Madeline was the barmaid from the Rat Trap, Bertha if Basil remembered correctly, the sister to William. He couldn't see her face, but her shoulders shook, as if she was still sobbing. Her more cream brown mix with gray brown fur and dirty blonde hair stood out from the rest of her family, so out of many that were here, she stood out. Next to Bertha was the leader (now official) was the youngest member. Gwendolen Knox, the half-sister to William and Bertha Knox. Basil noticed her sideways glare and realized quickly that she had noticed him observing everyone. A hand rested on her shoulders though, making her to look away from the detective. The mouse looked to see who the hand belong to only to look in shock of the presence of Professor Ratigan himself. He looked to Dawson, wondering if he had just imagined this, only to see Dawson's shock as well.

So, the rumors were true. The Professor was alive.

Actually, as Basil looked to observe again, there were many members of Ratigan's gang here.

"And now, is there anyone here who wishes to speak of our now gone friend?"

The youngest Knox stood up silently, her head now facing the ground. Many eyes looked at her in her black attire as she spoke.

"Papa may seem like any other criminal ter ... certain eyes, but 'e was still a father. He made sure we 'ad da best life 'e could give us. He gave us da best love 'e could as our father, gave us all da support 'e could, an' even more. He taught us everythin' 'e knew, an' everythin' what we could do. He never stopped us from doin' somethin' 'e didn't wan' us ter do, unless 'e knew i' could threaten us deeply. Whenever any ov us was in trouble or close ter it, 'e found a way ter get us out. To follow in 'is footsteps, ter be like 'im, ter keep an' protect everythin' 'e could an' would give ter us 'as an' always'll be da greatest thin' what any ov us can do fer 'im," the mousy brown hair mouse paused for a second, her eyes completely closed. Ratigan's hand held a grip onto hers as she continued.

"I'm sorry we couldn't get yew out in time, Papa... But at least I can promise what I'll make sure no one else in our family suffers from any time people put against us."

She sat back down, leaning against her half-sister. Her grip on Ratigan's however seemed to stay.

…..

The rest of the ceremony seemed to be a blur for them all. The Knox family all walked to new hideout for Ratigan and his gang, the criminal part of Mousedom having their own ceremony for the now deceased. There were a few quite conversations here and there, but more were rather wanting to pretend this was all just a bad dream, drinking away the sorrow.

Howard Knox had been more than just a father to the younger Knoxs, he had been considered one of the gentlemen of the mouse crime world. Not gentlemen like Ratigan was, with schemes and one to be reckoned with. A gentlemen that you wouldn't have suspected to be a criminal. Granted, him murdering someone to keep some information safe from the law wasn't quite a stretch, after all, the elderly mouse had been a family man. But for him to be hanged would have probably lead to something almost as chaotic as what happened when the policemen had first thought Ratigan as dead. Luckily, that chaos would have to wait until the entire Knox family was dead... or when Ratigan plays with death again, whichever would come first.

Ratigan stood outside the hideout, breathing out some smoke from his cigarette. He was wearing a completely black vest, no cape attached, with a dark blue and dark grey cravat. He looked to the side, giving him a somewhat view of what was going on inside. Madeline was sitting with her step-daughter Bertha and their bodyguard Harvey, a Scottish rat with reddish brown fur, yellow eyes, and a brown nose. The step-brothers William and John (seriously, they should have been brothers from the start) were both sharing some stories with some members of Rat trap entertainment, most likely trying to lighten the mood a bit. As the rat... err, large mouse, scanned the area, he realized that the youngest Knox was nowhere in sight. Ratigan sighed and quickly snuffed his cigarette before heading to his study. Knox probably wanted to know how the… appointment went.

Opening the study, the mastermind gazed at the female mouse that stood within as she held up a gun and what seemed to be a bloody handkerchief.

"Ms. Knox."

She turned her head to glance at him, her face tear stained. The larger rodent felt his stomach drop, knowing well that the only time the woman in front of him ever let out any tears was during an emotional breakdown. The realization most likely showed on his face as she placed the items down and wiped her face.

"Professor," she said as she held her head up. Ratigan let out a small chuckle as her pride before closing the door behind him. "Is 'e dead?" Ratigan's smile became a grin.

"As a doornail," he said looking down slightly at her as he walked towards the new queen of smuggling. "The police will find the body though. As according to plan, naturally. Now, as for our alibies, I've concluded a play between the two of us, your sister, and Harvey." Knox tilted her head at him as she leaned on his desk.

"Do they know? I 'ate ter brin' 'em in 'er dis wiv 'em not knowing," she said, looking back at the gun on the desk.

"Of course. You would have had my hide if they didn't. And I daresay you would dare to as well," he said before cupping her chin in his paw and lifting it to meet her green eyes. "We'll get them in the end, every single one of them, Gwen." Ratigan smirked as Knox's eyes narrowed at him, becoming cold as glass.

"What in da blazes makes yew think all ov da sudden what yew can call me by what stupid name?" she growled, showing some rather peculiar, sharp teeth. Ratigan kept smirking though as he took something out from his vest pocket. Knox's eyes watched as the rat handed her a necklace made of multiple pearls and a teal apatite in the center.

"That, my dear, is why I _know_ I can get away with calling you that. I took the opportunity to give our little sneak one last job while I made a fake to place on the body. Might as well leave a… herring for our dear, dear lawmen," he grinned, letting Knox take the necklace as she blinked and examined it. He saw a small smile start to somewhat form on her face.

"Apatite... its name can also mean... Err…" she tried to think on the symbolism of the jewel. The professor smiled as he helped put it on her.

"Its name comes from its Greek name, which in turn means 'cheat,'" Ratigan said, tracing her cheeks. "Such a little symbol they'll overlook." Knox hugged him tightly, taking him by surprise for a moment before smiling widely as he held her close. For a mouse, she was considered rather tall as Knox, at her tallest, came close to Ratigan's shoulders.

"We're savin' Basil fer last."

"Yes, but I'm the one pulling the trigger, darling."

"Don't ever call me that, Ratigan."

Ratigan chuckled as he kissed her forehead, feeling her freeze up for a moment before she sank deeper into the hug. He smiled, placing a paw to run through her hair.

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><p>And done with the chapter! So, we get a small insight of Ratigan's and his new partner's plan and Basil finds out something that didn't go along with the law's plan. Oh joy.<p>

Please review everyone.


	3. Chapter 2

Again, I only own OCs….

Eli H. Lee

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><p>"There were certainly more people there than I had thought there would be," Dawson said as both him and Basil walked along the streets. The detective paused as he looked around suspiciously.<p>

"Yes well, Howard Knox was known as the mouse new criminals went to for a head start," he said, walking alongside Dawson. "Whenever any criminal needed help, he was who they went to. What his daughter said included all of them that knew him." Dawson looked at him before thinking very hard, the concentration causing a crease on his forehead.

"Ratigan must have known him well then too. I mean, he was there, though I suppose he and the young lady were a couple of sorts. Of course not my business if it isn't but-"

"Ratigan has a fancy towards her, if that's what you mean Dawson. Personally, I'd want to stay away from 'Knoxy' Knox as far as possible." Both mice looked to see Inspector Greg in front of Basil's door. "Though I suppose that given the fact of the limited choice of women in the criminal business and those willing to place their lives within that part of society, I shouldn't be surprised."

"Inspector?"

"What in the blazes are you doing here?"

"You got two lovely ladies inside with Mrs. Judson serving them crumpets and tea. One of them Officer Water's daughter," Greg said as he looked towards the door.

"I wasn't aware of a daughter," Dawson said, also looking towards the door in curiosity. Basil straighten his coat a bit at the information before reaching out for the doorknob, only to turn back to the inspector.

"Why is she and the other lady here?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Our informant, Theodore Daniella, was found murdered. Water's daughter happens to be Officer Daniella's wife." Greg looked to the side as if in somewhat pain himself. "And this murder... well, quite frankly it's bloody. And the poor woman has enough to worry about now." Greg pulled out a cigar shakily, lighting it.

"I would ask why we're not discussing this inside but I have a feeling it has to do with her as well," Basil said, his expression clearly asking Greg to get on with the point. Greg glared at the detective for a moment before turning to Dawson.

"Dawson, as a doctor, you agree that stress is the last thing you want a pregnant woman to feel?"

The doctor in question look taken aback from the question, but nodded just the same. "Yes, quite recommended to make her feel as comfortable as she can in fact. She's... err, in such condition I take it?"

"Aye. So giving you the details out here and not in front of her at this moment is going to save a lot of stress for both her and her friend." Greg blew out a puff of smoke, looking down and letting himself lean against the wall a bit. Basil lifted his hand off the doorknob and waited for Greg to continue. "Alright on the details. Time of death was sometime late last night, between 11:00 and midnight. Shot five times in the chest, once in the head, and stabbed countless of times, but they weren't what killed him. He had been stabbed through the heart with a sword, but we're not sure what kind. The shots seemed to be overkill, but could have been to make good and sure of him being dead. The stab wounds on the other hand," Greg paused for a moment, his fur on his face seeming to have paled. Dawson and Basil both had the same expression, as the details were quite clearly… brutal. "They were clearly made later, later enough that he was dead. They didn't look like a plan murder, Basil, it looked like planned vengeance to me. And the doctor we had examining the body clearly said that each stab wound was by a different hand."

Dawson by this point was now leaning against the wall, his hand over his mouth and his creamish fur even paler. Basil clenched his eyes shut, his nose twitching at all of this. Greg pulled a bag out and handed it to Basil. "We also found this on him." The detective looked inside and raised an eyebrow, though his face was still pale. He lifted a pearl necklace that contained a teal apatite in the center by hooking his finger around the smaller pearls. "Apparently, he was given one last job before his death, stealing that necklace. The rightful owner called it missing, and we've put it together back at the station that it must have been missing two and a half hours before his death."

Basil looked at the necklace carefully, his eyes narrowed. "But it's a fake. A good fake, but still a fake. And there doesn't seem to be any blood splatter on here, so he must of have had the real necklace and this fake would have been place on his corpse after his death."

"Who was the body found by?" Dawson asked, clenching his hat in his hands.

"The wife's friend who's with her inside at the moment. When Theo didn't go back home by the time he promised, and since the missus wanted to call the news of her pregnancy to some relatives, she asked her friend if she could find him. Poor gypsy girl got a nasty surprise when she found him washed up on the side of the Thames," Greg said, his brown eyes flicking towards the door. "Now, before we go in, and yes Basil, I'm going in with you and Dawson since this is the death of a fellow officer, I want to get a few things clear still about the ladies. Parthena's an actress and a singer, so I'm going to warn you that she may seem a bit dramatic at times, pregnancy might also be in help with that. Her Rom friend is Dika Lovell. She's moved in with Mrs. Daniella to help her out and such, and is also very close to the woman. So whatever you do Basil, for the love of bloody hell, Don't. Offend. Either. One. Of. Them."

All three of them went in only to see a young female hamster tending the fireplace. She had pale fur, almost white, with strawberry blonde spot patches. She wore a dress with a blue off-the-shoulder dress, with puffy arm length sleeves, a lavender scarf around her waist and shoulders, and a black and teal bodice. In one ear she had two golden loop ear rings while in the other she had two sapphire ear rings. She had black heels on, as on her forehead was a gray headband holding back the tuff of fur that went forward towards her fore head. All three men looked at her for a moment as she stood up and noticed them.

"Oh, err, sorry. I thought that the fire needed some tending to and…"

"Save your breath, ma'am," Greg held his hand up as he spoke before turning it to Basil and Dawson. "Ms. Lovell, I wish to introduce Basil of Baker Street and Doctor David Dawson. Basil, Dawson, this is Dika Lovell." The hamster Rom smiled weakly, nodding in greeting to the other two mice. Basil also nodded in return, sinking into a nearby chair. Dawson stood still for a moment, his hat in his hands before he came out of whatever daze he had just been in.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Lovell," he said, smiling a tad sheepishly while bowing. Dika shook her head slightly while sighing.

"Call me Dika, Doctor. I'm uncomfortable with formalities." Basil, while resting his fingers on his forehead raised an eyebrow at the sight of a light blush on Dawson's face.

"Where is Mrs. Daniella right now?" the detective asked, taking note as the gypsy looked towards the door to the kitchen.

"With Annie in the kitchen." She gave a smile, much stronger that her previous one before looking back at the detective. "'Thena's probably eating all the cheese crumpets the old lady's giving her." Basil refrained from rolling his eyes as both Greg and Dawson gave somewhat of chuckles. Just then, right on cue, a dark brown female mouse, dressed in a red dress, matching headband, and a red-orange feather in her black, raven hair entered the room, a plate of cheese crumpets and some sandwiches in her hands. At the sight of the company in the room, the young woman tried to smile weakly. Greg nodded in greeting and motioned for her to come over.

"Come on, 'Thena. The Inspector just brought Basil and Dawson in," Dika said as she gave the other woman an encouraging smile and lead her to the other chair. Mrs. Daniella did so, her eyes looking tiredly at the detective and doctor.

"Basil, Dawson, this is Parthena Daniella."

"The actress?"

"Yes."

Parthena smiled weakly before it faded. "I suppose Inspector Greg already gave you the details?" At Basil's nod, the new widow continued. "Then you'll probably understand why I want the criminal put behind bars. These criminals should be placed behind bars, hanged, and by any other means of justice that they can be punished." Her hardened gaze caused a small suspicion in the detective.

"Do you have any idea of who would be against your husband, Madame?" Basil began, studying her expression carefully. Parthena took a crumpet as her eyebrows narrowed.

"I can think of quite a few. Anyone who found out of Thomas's undercover, which could be anyone in Ratigan's gang or that sewer rat Ratigan himself if the rumors are true-"

"They are, I'm afraid."

"Well then, Ratigan would be one. I wouldn't be surprised then. But then there's three others I can think off the top of my head if I were to put it as close to personnel as possible." Basil and Dawson looked at each other as Greg stood by Basil's chair.

"And they would be?"

"I don't know their first names," she said, taking a bite out of the crumpet and swallowing it. "But they were connected to the mouse who killed my father."

Basil, Greg, and Dawson all looked at her. "The Knoxs?" Dawson asked, clenching his hat in his hands harder. Parthena nodded, closing her dark eyes. Dika placed a hand on her friend's shoulder before turning to the men.

"I was visiting that day, 'Thena had invited me over to help her with a script for one of her plays. There were two men, one a mouse, the other a rat, and a woman. Looked like she was a mouse. They were with Thomas in the house study, arguing like crazy over some money for this Howard fellow," the hamster said, sitting on the floor while doing so.

"Was the rat grey with yellow eyes?" Basil asked, instantly thinking of Ratigan.

"No. Well, he was grey, but he had blue eyes. And two scars on his nose. The other man looked extremely like him… and the woman… Not exactly what I hear most mice men would like in the appearance of lady mice I suppose."

"Pardon?"

"She looked like a mouse. Her fur on the other hand seemed more like the color a rat would have. That and she had mousy brown hair." Dika gave a weak chuckle there. "Get it? 'Mousy' brown? And she was a mouse and… sorry…"

"William, John, and Gwen… and with Ratigan in possible tow," Basil said, rubbing his tired eyes. What Dika said next didn't surprise the detective much.

"But aren't these Knoxs smugglers? From what I know of smugglers don't kill. Well, this Howard guy might have been an exception, but still."

Greg gave a noise that sounded close to something between a snort and a laugh. "You'd change your mind the moment you saw how the youngest daughter operates everything, Dika. Knox is a dangerous woman."

"Why do we keep calling her by her last name?" Dawson question caused Basil to rub his ear subconsciously.

"Because calling her by her first name will get you a bullet in the head. And she'll do it in a blink of an eye and not even glance at you."

Silence for some reason went over the small crowd there before Parthena spoke up.

"You know, when she and the two men said that we'd regret it and pay for it… Theo's death wasn't what came to mind. I guess the daughter can be as bad as the father."

…

Meanwhile, somewhere near Farringdon Street, there's what seems to be a small mouse hole that leads to the richly painted door of the Knoxs' House. Behind that door, it can be seen throughout the homely home that the family had earned a very well pay as smugglers and thieves.

Up the stairs and in what seemed to be a small dressing room, Bertha could be seen admiring the necklace Ratigan had given her half-sister while Madeline and Knox herself were at the mirror, the step-mother working something onto the youngest member's face.

"You have ta admit, sis," Bertha said, turning over the apatite part of it over, tracing her hands lightly over it as if she was afraid it would break. "He has taste for fine, fine things."

"Berthy, put it down. We don't want it to break or anything of the sort." As Madeline said that, she turned her tired face to the honey-blonde mouse. If one looked closely, one could see the bags under Madeline's sky blue eyes. Bertha smiled sadly before setting the necklace down and picking up a dark blue chapeau that had a light blue band around it. Looking over, she almost let out a laugh at Knox's reflection of no amusement in the mirror, showing Madeline trying to fix a light blue mask that was rimmed with apatite gems on the corners onto her face. Knox herself was wearing a dark blue dress, at the same shade as the hat Bertha held in her hands, with little touches of light blue here and there. Her usually messy hair was tied up in a ponytail with a matching ribbon.

"It's sad this may be the closest thing we're gonna get after five years," Bertha said, giving the chapeau to Knox as their mother tied the stripes of the mask.

"Pardon?"

"You know what I mean, Knoxy."

Before the grayish mouse could answer, a knock on the door was heard and a Scottish accented voice was heard behind it. "Pardon, lassies, but our visitor is 'ere."

"You can come on in you know, Harvey," Madeline said, finishing helping Knox put on the necklace. Harvey opened the door and peered inside, before leaning against the door frame. "Padraic's here?" The reddish brown rat nodded before giving a glance towards Bertha, who in turn was trying to retie Knox's ribbon while Knox tried to get her to leave it alone. The stepmother pushed the girls apart before signaling the younger one to go. As the two other women left, Bertha looked to Harvey to suddenly see a bonnet of white jasmine, lavender, and morning glory in Harvey's hand.

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><p>Ok, I had to stop it here. I'm sorry, but this chapter was both taking too long and I need to get to work on chapter 3 on my rewritten fanfiction for Madagascar.<p>

Please review.


	4. Chapter 3

Yay! Chapter 4! I only OCs here!

Eli H. Lee

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><p>Ratigan was in the sitting room, gazing at a family portrait of the Knox family. He was wearing a white jacket, a jade green colored cravat and matching chapeau hat, and light, almost white, blue pants. The mask he wore covered most of his face and was the same color as Knox's was, but with diamonds instead of apatites. Nearby, John and William were playing poker as they made small conversation with Ratigan.<p>

"So, how's Fidget?" John said, looking up at the other rat in curiosity. Ratigan straighten his cravat slightly before taking out a pocket watch.

"He's still practicing on not using his crutches."

"Neil?"

"Abusing the medication."

Both brothers groaned and face palmed. "Still?" William asked, placing his cards faced down. Ratigan placed the pocket watch back into his coat pocket at the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs.

"Yes, still," he said before turning his head to the two women who had just entered the room. "Madeline, Knoxy." The stepdaughter nodded in greeting as Madeline looked at Ratigan in concern.

"You will make sure that both of you have good alibis, right?" she asked, her eyebrows created a creased on her aged forehead. Ratigan smiled as he held his arm out for Knox to take.

"I can assure you, Ma'am, we'll be well off from the scenes when they are found."

And with that, the two masked rodents left the Knoxs' home.

….

Basil studied the fake necklace that had been found on the body while thinking. "Dawson, what part of this seems off to you?" he asked, twitching his ears towards the other mouse who in turn was looking through the kitchen door. Dawson looked at him, startled for a moment before calming himself down a bit.

"I don't see what you're getting at, Basil."

"The Knoxes threatening Theodore Daniella before his death, Ratigan being alive and at the funeral, this… murder being so gruesome, and this necklace that was stolen and a fake being found on the body." Basil raised the fake necklace to his nose to sniff it and furrowed his eyebrows. "This was even made by someone who has clearly been in both the jewelry business and well supplied in chemicals. We know the suspects, we know clearly the motive, and we know each suspect would be able to do the crime and have the support from others to help them."

Dawson thought for a moment before answering, "We have almost all the answers. After all, it could be all the suspects, couldn't it?"

Basil held up the necklace, still having his eyebrows furrowed together. "This. The necklace almost has no part of it aside from as Mr. Daniella's last job. But then why would someone put a fake in its place? There doesn't seem to be any logic in the matter, Dawson. Dawson?"

Basil looked to the side to see Dawson looking through the kitchen door again, observing the young Dika helping Mrs. Judson. The detective shook his head at the doctor as he went back to observing the fake necklace.

"Hmm… pearls seem to be of clay from the river itself."

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><p>Please review and forgive me for this being so late.<p> 


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